2 Attachment(s)
Sony Developing Rumpelstiltskin Movie With Peter Dinklage Set To Star
Peter Dinklage is attached to produce and star in a new Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale movie for Sony. The project is being written by Patrick Ness, the author/screenwriter behind the best-selling novels A Monster Call and Chaos Walking (both of which Ness also adapted for the big screen).
A fairy tale most widely associated with the Grimm Brothers, the classic Rumpelstiltskin story revolves around a miller who lies to a king, telling him that his daughter can spin straw into gold. After being ordered to do just that by the king (under the punishment of either death or life in a prison), the miller's daughter is helped by a mysterious imp-like creature... though his assistance comes at a high price. The story has been adapted for TV and film many times over in the past, while the Rumpelstilstkin character has shown up everywhere from the Shrek movies to ABC's Once Upon a Time TV series, in recent years. Now, he's getting his own movie starring Tyrion Lannister himself.
According to Variety, the Rumpelstiltskin movie is a "priority" for Sony, but probably won't be the first feature that Dinklage tackles after Game of Thrones' last season airs next year. By the sound of it, the project is currently in the early stages of development and may not start filming until the second half of 2019, if not later. As such, plot details are being kept firmly under wraps right now, including whether this version of the fairy tale takes place in a more traditional period setting or the present day.
Dinklage recently appeared in such films as the Oscar-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and, earlier this year, played Eitri in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War. He's already got a few movies on his to-do list after Game of Thrones ends (and we all find out if Tyrion makes it out of the series alive), including Brad Anderson's historical novel-turned film The Dwarf. Meanwhile, on the franchise side of things, the actor will reprise his voice as the Mighty Eagle during next year's Sony Animation film sequel, The Angry Birds Movie 2.
The news that Sony is planning a Rumpelstiltskin movie is unexpected, seeing as Hollywood only went through a fairy tale film craze a few years back. For the most part, studios had mixed success turning classic fairy tales into modern tentpoles (see Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman), and some of those movies even bombed at the box office (see Jack the Giant Slayer). That said, Rumpelstilstin should have a relatively lower budget and, thus, be less of a financial risk by comparison. Moreover, the one-two punch of Dinklage and Ness's involvement is reason enough to keep an eye on this one.
